System and method for displaying commercials in connection with an interactive television application

ABSTRACT

An embodiment provides a method including: providing an interactive game application for execution on a client device; providing access to data for use in conjunction with said interactive game application; determining a specified event has taken place within the interactive game application in accordance with one or more user interactions with said interactive game application; requesting at least one asset identification from a server; after determining the specified event has taken place within the interactive game application, suspending the interactive game application; displaying at least one asset corresponding to the at least one asset identification; and resuming the interactive game application in response to displaying the at least one asset. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/428,660, entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FORDISPLAYING COMMERCIALS IN CONNECTION WITH AN INTERACTIVE TELEVISIONAPPLICATION, filed on May 2, 2003, which in turn claims the benefit ofU.S. Provisional Application No. 60/380,146 entitled SYSTEM AND METHODFOR DISPLAYING COMMERCIALS IN CONNECTION WITH AN INTERACTIVE TELEVISIONAPPLICATION, filed on May 3, 2002, each of which is incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present invention generally relates to interactive television andmore specifically to inserting a television commercial into aninteractive television application.

BACKGROUND

Interactive television systems offer subscribers a variety of servicesand applications such as an interactive program guide, Internet access,video on demand, ticket services and games. Some interactive televisionsystems allow viewers to play along with game shows, vote during realityTV programs, enjoy views from different camera angles, and accessdetailed statistics during a sporting broadcast, to name just a fewexamples.

Another area of interactive television includes developing applicationsthat operate on a viewer's set top box but may not directly pertain to atraditional television broadcast. For example, cable and satelliteproviders may offer “virtual channels.” Virtual channels are fullyinteractive digital networks that combine live broadcast feeds,scheduled/live data feeds, and/or video-on-demand programming to createthe next generation of digital programming. These on-demand applicationsare being developed both to complement existing analog/digital networksand to deliver such new services to the television experience as bankingand shopping. A virtual channel may be accessed as any other channel, byentering a channel number, or also through a separate menu selectionsystem.

The virtual channel may, for example, offer a game. These virtualchannels may be similar to a web browser and allow the user to requestinformation by interacting with a menu on the screen and using a remotecontrol. The virtual channel operates by running an application on theset top box and fetching data through the cable or satellite network'son demand content system.

By providing enhanced TV services, network operators gain not onlybetter customer satisfaction but also increased revenues. Consumerdemand for enhanced television offerings attracts subscribers; and byadding breadth and depth to the digital offering, enhanced services helpto retain subscribers on the digital tier.

Network operators also use enhanced or interactive television to createnew revenue streams, such as charging for participation (per vote, perplay, and other methods) in television programs. Advertisers useenhancements during commercial spots to retain interest and provideinstant access to more detailed information about their products.

Existing payment models for such applications generally include acombination of a subscription model (generally fixed monthly fees paidby the subscriber) and a pay per use model. It would be advantageous tooffer an interactive television system that incorporates alternativepayment methods for-its interactive television services andapplications.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In summary, one aspect provides a method comprising: providing aninteractive game application for execution on a client device; providingaccess to data for use in conjunction with said interactive gameapplication; determining a specified event has taken place within theinteractive game application in accordance with one or more userinteractions with said interactive game application; requesting at leastone asset identification from a server; after determining the specifiedevent has taken place within the interactive game application,suspending said interactive game application; displaying at least oneasset corresponding to the at least one asset identification; andresuming the interactive game application in response to displaying saidat least one asset.

Another aspect provides a system comprising: a client device comprisinga processor, memory, and communications link operatively coupled to acommunications network, the client device further comprising at leastone interactive game application residing in its memory; the interactivegame application being programmed to: insert at least one asset atpoints during the use of the interactive game application in accordancewith one or more user interactions with the interactive gameapplication; the client device requesting an identifier of the at leastone asset in accordance with one or more user interactions with theinteractive game application.

The foregoing is a summary and thus may contain simplifications,generalizations, and omissions of detail; consequently, those skilled inthe art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is notintended to be in any way limiting.

For a better understanding of the embodiments, together with other andfurther features and advantages thereof, reference is made to thefollowing description, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appendedclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1a-b are block diagrams illustrating the infrastructure of asystem in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of one embodiment of an interactive televisionsystem in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is block flow diagram of an exemplary interactive application inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates exemplary screens from an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention wherein the interactive application is a trivia game.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, commercials areprovided to a subscriber at the start of or during use of an interactivetelevision application.

Further in accordance with one aspect of the invention, a subscriber mayselect to pay for use of the interactive television application bywatching a specified amount of commercials in connection with use of theapplication. The subscriber can thereby reduce or avoid any additionalpayment for such services.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the subscriber isprompted to determine a preferred payment method. The payment method mayinclude receiving commercials in lieu of or in addition to traditionalpayment methods such as pay-per-view, pay-per-use, pay-per-play, andsubscription based payment. Alternatively the subscriber may choose topay for use of the application with traditional payment methods andforego viewing any advertisements.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, aninteractive television system determines whether the subscriber hasselected to view commercials in connection with receiving a selectedinteractive television application or service. If the subscriber hasselected to view commercials, then the system sends selected commercialsto the subscriber. The commercials may be viewed at the initiation ofthe interactive television service or alternatively can be viewed atselected points during the use of the application. Commercials are videoassets that are delivered on demand to an individual subscriber.Alternatively, commercials may be either broadcast or narrow cast forreception by a selected subscriber group.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the interactivetelevision application is a trivia game. The game consists of the userbeing presented with a plurality of questions, and providing answers toeach of the questions. The present invention provides a system andmethod for inserting commercials into the game.

Displaying commercials in conjunction with an interactive televisionapplication is quite different from inserting commercials into atraditional television broadcast. Since an interactive application isrun on the user's set top box, and requires interaction by the viewer,the broadcaster no longer has total control of exactly when to transmitthe commercial. An interactive television application is considerednon-linear programming, and therefore presents a challenge. It is anobjective of the present invention to address the problem of insertingcommercial advertising into non-linear programming.

FIGS. la-b are block diagrams illustrating an interactive televisionsystem 100 in accordance with the present invention. At the viewer end,the interactive television system generally consists of a client device101 located at the viewer's home or other location, as well as atelevision, monitor, or other display 102 connected to the clientdevice. The user generally has an input device 103 such as a remotecontrol or keyboard that works in conjunction with the client device andallows the user to provide input.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the client deviceis a set top box. One example of a set top box for use in accordancewith the present invention is Motorola's Digital Consumer Terminal. Theset top box could also be a personal video recorder having a local videostorage device 104. A client device or set top box in accordance withthe present invention generally runs a system software 106 that works inconjunction with a broadcast server, which orchestrates the delivery ofapplications and services. A broadcast server may for example, be anapplication server 108, video broadcast server 109, or a video on demandserver 110. Application server 108 is server that provides client 101with one or more applications. Video broadcast server 109 is server thatreceives broadcast signals from one or more sources and transmits themto client 101. Video on demand server 110 is a video on demand gatewayproviding access to one ore more video on demand systems.

It is to be understood that the client device could be any device with aprocessor, memory, and capable of receiving cable or satellitecommunication signals. The client device could for example, be apersonal computer having a television tuner. Alternatively, the clientdevice could also be a PDA, cell phone capable of displaying video, avideo phone, etc.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block flow diagram of one embodiment for insertingcommercial programming into an interactive television application inaccordance with the present invention. An interactive televisionapplication is sent to a user's set top box by either broadcasting 201the application or by writing it into the flash memory 202 resident onthe set top box.

Therefore, the interactive television application can be transmitted tothe user's set top box at the user's request, or transparently to theuser, via cable or satellite broadcast. For example, game data files canbe uploaded to servers at the cable head-end. The servers will broadcastthe data to the set top box through an in-band carousel. Broadcastingapplications on the cable network allows set top boxes to downloadmultiple applications without needing a two-way connection. The set topbox tunes to the in-band carousel, downloads the application and dataand places it into the set top box's memory. After fully loading, theapplication appears on the television screen. Alternatively, theapplication can be installed to the memory of the set top box prior toreceipt and installation in one's home. Applications could also beinstalled by the user by connecting a cable or personal computer to theset top box and copying files to the set top box memory.

In one embodiment of the present invention the interactive televisionapplication is an interactive single player game. However, it should beunderstood that the principles of the present invention apply tomultiplayer games or to other types of interactive applications as well.

An interactive television user loads and initiates the application 203.The application runs until it determines 204 that it is time to presenta television commercial to the user. The application may, for example,be hard coded to include the display of commercials upon certainconditions or at predetermined times. There also may be anotherapplication on the client device that is responsible for displayingcommercials, which works in communication with the interactiveapplication. Alternatively, the broadcaster may send a trigger or signalto notify an application that it is time to display a commercial.

In one embodiment, the application presents a set of commercials onstart up of the application. In another embodiment, commercials arepresented at various times during the use of the application. Thecommercials may be presented at predetermined time intervals (e.g.,every 10 minutes from the start of the application) or at predeterminedtimes (e.g. synchronized to a system clock). Alternatively, commercialsare shown at predetermined points in the running of the application. Forexample, in a game application where the game is organized into a seriesof rounds, commercials are presented at either the end or beginning ofeach round. As another example, a game could have a series ofprogressive levels of difficulty through which a user may advance.Commercials could be presented at the end or beginning of eachprogressive level. In yet another embodiment, commercials are triggeredoff of specified events in the application. For example, apre-determined number of correct or incorrect answers, or a player'sscore could trigger the display of a commercial.

As mentioned above, in one embodiment of the present invention, theinteractive application is hard coded to include the display of videoassets. For example, in a trivia game application, the application mayinclude in its design a commercial that is displayed whenever fivequestions are answered. In this manner, the display of the video assetis dependent on the nature of the interactive application.

In another embodiment, display of video assets may be controlled by aseparate software module that operates on the client device incooperation with the interactive application. This way, a singlesoftware module is responsible for the display of video assets, and eachof a plurality of interactive applications does not need to beseparately coded for the display of video assets.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the interactiveapplication receives notification to display a video asset upon receiptof a signal from the broadcaster. Upon receipt of such a broadcastsignal, the interactive application may be designed to continue what itis doing at the moment, and at the next available moment, display avideo asset. The broadcast signal could alternatively interrupt theinteractive application and immediately display the video asset. In amulti-player game, for example, the display of the video asset wouldpause the game and display a commercial to be displayed at the same timefor every player.

After determining 204 that it is time to display a commercial, thesystem identifies 205 the video asset (e.g. the commercial) that is tobe played. In one embodiment, the identifier of the video asset isretrieved using a video on demand asset gateway 208 that interfaces withand aggregates video asset information from multiple video on demandsystems. Another method of retrieving the identifier is retrieving theidentifier from a broadcast of video asset information 209. Yet anothermethod of receiving the video on demand asset information includesreceiving it from information contained in the interactive televisionapplication 210. The commercial could be selected randomly from acollection of a plurality of commercials, or the application coulddesignate specific commercials to be displayed. Also, the selection ofthe commercial could depend on user preference or profile.

Next, the system 100 stops the application to present 206 the commercialto the subscriber, in one embodiment, stopping is achieved withouthalting execution of the application. The application itself invokes theprocess required to retrieve and display the commercial. Alternatively,stopping may be achieved by halting, suspending or otherwise stoppingexecution of the application and then resuming once the commercial hascompleted. By way of example, in one embodiment stopping a game meansstopping the interactivity, on another it means stopping game play.

In one embodiment the commercial plays over the full screen spaceallocated for the application. In other embodiments, the commercial isscaled to occupy a portion of the full screen space. When thepresentation of the commercial or set of commercials is complete, theapplication resumes. In the case of a game application, game playresumes 207. The application continues until the subscriber ends thegame or until the application determines that it is time to present morecommercials. In one embodiment, the application itself determines whenthe commercials are to be played. In another embodiment, the game isinterrupted by another module that controls the playing of thecommercials.

In one embodiment, the commercials are sent as video-on-demand streamsthat are received from a video-on-demand server 211 located at a cablehead end. In another embodiment, commercials are sent as a narrow-castvideo stream to a selected subscriber group so that more than onesubscriber can view the video asset simultaneously. Alternatively, thecommercial that is displayed could be one that is broadcast to allsubscribers simultaneously.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, video assets areprovided to a client device such as a personal video recorder havinglocal storage such as a hard drive. Video assets are then stored on thelocal storage for later retrieval and display.

In yet another embodiment, video assets are provided to a client deviceby providing a separate channel dedicated to the broadcast of videoassets. Display of a video asset is achieved by switching channels anddisplaying the dedicated commercial transmission. In this embodiment ofthe present invention, there may be a synchronization or timing aspectinvolved such that the commercial is displayed from beginning to end,and display does not start at a random time in the middle of acommercial.

The system 100 of the present invention can deliver commercials inconnection with an interactive television application. In one embodimentof the present invention, commercials are presented at the option of thesubscriber. The system determines whether a subscriber prefers to runthe application (e.g., play the game) with commercials or withoutcommercials. If the system determines that the user has selected toreceive commercials, then in one embodiment, the system permits theoperation of the interactive application without passing any charges(fees) to the subscriber. In another embodiment, fees are still chargedbut are discounted in proportion to the number of commercials selectedby the user. The system and method of the present invention thereforeprovides a method of selecting and providing payment for the use of aninteractive television application.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of one exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention wherein the interactive television application is aplay at home version of a popular televised trivia game show.

Upon execution of the game application, an introductory screen 300 isdisplayed. The user is prompted 301 to start the game or view help whichmay consist of instructions on how to play the game.

Upon choosing to start the game, data is fetched and loaded into theapplication while displaying a data loading screen 302. The mainquestion screen is displayed. Most of the game's layout is based on aquestion screen. The background of this screen consists of an MPEGframe. The upper corner of the background contains a photo of the on-airset. This area will later be covered up by other elements, such as videoon demand commercials, timers, final answer buttons, etc. Exemplaryscreens from the game are illustrated in FIG. 4.

The application receives data from the broadcaster in the form ofquestions and answers. For example, for each question, data representingthe text of a question, and its four possible answers is sent to theapplication. The application displays the text of the question in thequestion field, and the four possible answers in the answer field. Thecorrect answer is also sent. A point value may also be sent with eachquestion.

Many other types of data can also be broadcast to the application. Forexample, images and graphics may be sent for display within theapplication. In the present example of a trivia game, datarepresentative of global score information such as other high scoreplayers could be sent to the application.

The user uses arrow keys on a remote control to move the onscreenhighlight across the active buttons. Clicking the “Select/OK” buttonwill activate the currently highlighted button. The user selects from achoice of four answers what they believe to be the correct answer. Theuser is prompted if this is their final answer 305. Once the uservalidates that this is their final answer, the answer screen 306 isdisplayed, showing if they are correct or not.

In this particular game, the game only continues if the user answerscorrectly. If the answer is correct, a winnings screen 307 is displayedwith the user's score.

At this point, a video asset such as a commercial may optionally bedisplayed 308. As mentioned earlier, a commercial may be displayed aftereach question is answered, upon completion of a predetermined number ofcorrect or incorrect answers, may be dependent upon a users score, or atthe start or end of a game.

In one embodiment the commercial screen displays a full-screen video ofa commercial using video on demand technology. Text is placed across thebottom of the screen telling the user, for example, “We will returnafter this commercial break”. When the ad finishes playing, the questionscreen will appear and the game will continue. Several video on demandcommercials will be available and chosen at random.

The system and method of the present invention is applicable to otherinteractive television applications besides the exemplary trivia game ashas been discussed thus far. For example, the interactive televisionapplication could be a sports game, a simulated card game, a roleplaying game, etc. The interactive application could also be aninformational application, and quite similar to a web browser. Theinteractive application could even be a television email utility.

It should be understood that the principles of the present inventionapply to other payment adjustment methods and models. In one embodiment,a user is prompted at the commencement of each interactive session as tothe user's preferences as to whether and quantity of commercials to bereceived. In another embodiment, a user profile is stored and retrievedthat contains the user's preference profile and the system presentscommercials in accordance with the profile.

This invention addresses and alleviates the growing need for paymentmethods for subscription based, pay-per-play/view and other pay servicesin correlation to the lack of back-end billing capabilities on MSOsystems and end-users not willing to pay out of pocket money forservices.

The present invention applies to launch or use a service, whether a gameservice, sweepstakes, free movie or any pay for service application intowhich video commercials or advertising is dynamically served as paymentfor use of said service. The end-user can pay for services by (1)watching a video advertisement; or (2) using standard payment methods(credit card or cable bill). Using video on demand or standard broadcastservices, the end-user can watch a video commercial as payment into thepay service.

The current way to use a subscription based or pay-per play/view serviceis to have the end-user pay out of pocket money or have the fee invoicedon the monthly cable bill.

The invention creates an additional method of payment based on TV, thatthe end-user, Content provider and MSO are used to: TV Commercialviewing.

This invention is different from previously invented methods ofinserting commercials into a video on demand linear program such as amovie in that commercials are inserted into interactive content that isnon-linear, such as a video game.

This method will create pay models for all interactive televisionapplications by leveraging advertising into interactive televisionapplications. Currently the only way to include advertising in suchapplications is through a series of banner ads. This will allow contentproviders, MSO and Advertisers to use current video assets and methodsthat demand higher prices for air time on all applications. TV is basedon commercial viewing, this inventions allows the method to expand tostand alone applications and services.

The present invention provides a significant competitive advantage overcompetitors by leveraging current TV ROI models into non-linearinteractive television. Advertisers, PayTV, MSO and Content Providersand Broadcasters will all benefit from this application.

In closing it is to be understood that the embodiments disclosed hereinare illustrative of the principals of the invention. Other modificationsmay be employed which are within the scope of the invention.Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to that preciselyshown and described in the present specification.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: providing an interactive game application for execution on a client device; providing access to data for use in conjunction with said interactive game application; determining a specified event has taken place within the interactive game application in accordance with one or more user interactions with said interactive game application; requesting at least one asset identification from a server; after determining the specified event has taken place within the interactive game application, suspending said interactive game application; displaying at least one asset corresponding to the at least one asset identification; and resuming the interactive game application in response to displaying said at least one asset.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one asset is a commercial.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the commercial is displayed on a portion of a screen shared with the interactive game application.
 4. The method claim of 2, wherein the commercial is displayed on a full screen.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein suspending the interactive game application comprises halting execution of the interactive game application.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein suspending the interactive game application comprises pausing the interactive game application without halting execution of the interactive game application.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein suspending the interactive game application comprises continuing to run the interactive game application in the background.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein requesting at least one asset identification from a server comprises requesting the at least one asset identification after determining the specified event has taken place within the interactive game application.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one video asset is selected based upon a user profile.
 10. A system comprising: a client device comprising a processor, memory, and communications link operatively coupled to a communications network, the client device further comprising at least one interactive game application residing in its memory; the interactive game application being programmed to: insert at least one asset at points during the use of the interactive game application in accordance with one or more user interactions with the interactive game application; the client device requesting an identifier of the at least one asset in accordance with one or more user interactions with the interactive game application.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one asset acts as payment for use of the interactive game application based on a profile of user preferences for payment.
 12. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one asset is a commercial.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the commercial is displayed on a portion of a screen shared with the interactive game application.
 14. The system claim of 12, wherein the commercial is displayed on a full screen.
 15. The system of claim 10, wherein suspending the interactive game application comprises halting execution of the interactive game application.
 16. The system of claim 10, wherein suspending the interactive game application comprises pausing the interactive game application without halting execution of the interactive game application.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein suspending the interactive game application comprises continuing to run the interactive game application in the background.
 18. The system of claim 10, wherein requesting an identifier of the at least one asset in accordance with one or more user interactions with the interactive game application comprises requesting the at least one asset identification after determining a specified event has taken place within the interactive game application
 19. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one video asset is selected based upon a user profile. 